The present invention relates to building construction and installation of concrete forms for buildings, and more particularly to a novel bracket assembly for mounting on the forms to preselect and maintain the lateral distance or spacing between them. In preparing a building site for pouring of concrete for the foundation, a trench generally is excavated, in the outline of the building, and wooden concrete forms, often 2xc3x9710-foot boards, are arranged upright and spaced laterally to preselect the width and depth of the foundation. There have been various proposals for preselecting or fixing the distance between concrete forms, and maintaining them rigidly positioned during pouring of concrete. After concrete has been poured and has set-up sufficiently, the forms are dismantled, and building of the structure proceeds.
Different methods have been used for preselecting the lateral spacing between concrete forms. One example is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,288 which discloses a concrete form bracket having bracket halves, generally L-shaped in form, which include legs and a flange for mounting above the upper portion of a wall form, and wherein a plurality of wedge pins are used to mount the two halves together. In another embodiment shown in the patent, a continuous U-shaped bracket is shown which supports wall forms spaced-apart from one another and which includes downwardly depending flanges set at an angle for engaging opposite end portions of the vertically-positioned wall forms.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,378,850 there is shown a so-called form aligner in which a plate has mounted on opposite ends thereof vertically spaced-apart walls which accept the bottom end of vertically-positioned form members. The form aligner includes a sliding member through which may be extended a dowel pin which has been previously cast in a prior-poured footing. The slider element enables the aligner to be positioned so that it holds the wall forms in a desired location. There is no disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 2,378,850 for positioning or preselecting location of rebar material.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,106, there is disclosed a reusable bracket assembly for concrete forms in which a pair of U-shaped brackets each include tubular members, one slidable within the other and fixed relative to one another by an adjustable set screw so that the lateral spacing between vertical uprights can be preselected. The vertical uprights each include relatively thin members provided with plates extending therefrom for holding wooden form members. The plates are provided with a plurality of holes through which nails can be driven into the wooden form members. Another example of a concrete form, stated to be reusable, is the spacer/tie rod assembly shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,156. In that patent, a tie rod assembly interconnects spaced-apart plywood sheets. The tie rod assembly includes downwardly and upwardly turned opposite ends for tying the assembly together.
Still another example of a foundation device for use in concrete molding is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,020, wherein a plate is provide with spaced-apart vertical walls at opposite ends thereof. The vertically spaced-apart walls are dimensioned for receiving bottom ends of concrete forms and the plate is suitably attached by a fastener to a pre-existing foundation. After the concrete wall is poured, between the forms, the plate remains in position and becomes part of the structure.
Another type of bracket for preselecting lateral spacing between concrete forms is a product sold under the name xe2x80x9cRebar Buddy,xe2x80x9d which is made of plastic material and includes a mount for positioning rebar in a selected one of several positions. However, only the selected positions can be used for vertically mounting the rebar, and they are not adjustable to other desired positions.
The present invention is directed to a reusable bracket assembly for use in installing and predetermining the lateral spacing between concrete forms (usually made of wood) which are set vertically on the ground prior to concrete pouring. The bracket assembly also includes an adjustable rebar guide for prepositioning rebar, which is to be set vertically, prior to concrete pouring between the wall forms. The bracket assembly includes first and second elongate members which are longitudinally shiftable relative to one another and which include an end for engaging an upper portion of a concrete form. An adjustable retainer for releasably connecting the first and second elongate members is provided so that they may be shifted relative to one another to space them apart a preselected distance, which will correspond to the width of a foundation to be poured.
A unique feature of the present invention is the adjustable rebar guide mounted on one of the elongate members to hold a section of rebar substantially vertical for holding the rebar in position during concrete pouring. The rebar mount is laterally shiftable along one of the elongate members (prior to pouring) to a selected position, where it may be fixed for preselecting position of the rebar.
The bracket assembly of the present invention utilizes an adjustable retainer which is of simple construction. One of the elongate members is provided with a plurality of spaced-apart apertures, through which a pin may be inserted in an aligned aperture in the other elongate member to preselect lateral spacing between ends of the elongate members, depending upon the lateral spacing desired between the concrete forms. The adjustable rebar guide is formed as a member which can be slidably positioned or shifted along one of the elongate members, to a preselected location therealong, and fixed thereto. A clamping member, such as a bolt, pin or the like is then used to clamp the rebar, in a selected vertical position, relative to the ground. The clamping member may be released so that the rebar may be vertically shifted to a desired location.